As an HR leader, you know employees are your company’s biggest assets. But to realize their full potential, you must ensure that they are happy and motivated. As companies move to hybrid work models, creating an strong employee experience demands a different approach.
According to a Qualtrics survey:
- 37% of employees do not agree that their office is an enjoyable place to be
- 35% of employees are more likely to switch jobs if forced to work in an office full-time
- 34% of employees say their organization lacks communication and transparency
All this makes for a poor workplace experience, affecting their productivity and increasing attrition. And if your employee experience initiatives only include providing a birthday cake, it is time to go a step further. But before you do, here are 5 points that you must know.
- Employee Experience is Different from Employee Engagement
Often, the terms employee experience and employee engagement are used interchangeably. Both these concepts talk about boosting employee satisfaction in the workplace. But understanding their difference will help you design a better experience for your employees.
Employee experience is the journey of an employee with your company. It focuses on them as individuals and involves everything they go through at work, from interacting with processes to people.
On the other hand, employee engagement is the result of employee experience. It measures the willingness of employees to excel at their work. the better your employees’ experience, the higher their engagement.
- Key Components of Employee Experience
Before you draft your workplace experience strategies, you must understand the essential components to attract and retain top performers. These include-
- Workplace Culture
A healthy company culture can be tricky when employees work from different locations. So, start developing a culture based on fairness, empathy, and a shared purpose. This will improve employee performance and engagement levels.
- Work Environment
The work environment also plays a major role in creating a healthy work experience. So, ensure that your remote and onsite workers can access all the resources to work in a flexible environment. One way to determine if your employees are satisfied is by conducting regular surveys to take their feedback.
- Technology
Adopting the right technology is crucial to managing a hybrid workplace. Technology like chat rooms and instant messaging tools, for instance, help employees communicate effectively and work on tasks efficiently regardless of location. While productivity technology like scheduling systems improves employee productivity and promotes effective time management. All of this boosts the overall employee experience.
- Evolving Employee Experience Trends
The perception of employee experience is evolving significantly in the post-pandemic landscape. So, before you engaging in it, you must consider these new trends.
Here are a few employee experience trends that you should look out for in 2022 –
- The 4-day work week culture.
- Seamless onboarding process.
- Customized cloud solutions for end-to-end management of a hybrid workforce.
- Rise of flexible perks like sabbatical programs, stipends for home office setups, etc.
- Focus on employee well-being through initiatives like free therapy sessions, mental health break days, period leaves, etc.
- AI for HR functions talent acquisition, onboarding, training, employee engagement, performance appraisals, etc.
- Employee Journey
The last thing you must remember before engaging in employee experience is their journey through the company. This will give you an understanding of the various touchpoints of your current employee experience. It will also show how effective your employee experience is, and where they need improvement.
Employees with different job profiles will have different employee experiences. And this makes mapping out each employee’s journey far more complex.
So, create an employee journey map to identify ’employee personas’. This requires details like their job title, department, number of onsite working days, life goals, etc. You must also include the different touchpoints they encounter during their journey like recruitment, onboarding, exit, etc.
These details will help you gather feedback from employees about their experience and identify areas of improvement. Next, try to smoothen the bumps or make the employee experience seamless. For instance, if you notice that your exit interviews are long-winded, you can reduce their length. This will ensure your employees leave on a good note.
Thus, mapping the employee journey will help you design a better experience that addresses their needs and expectations from the workplace.
To Wrap Up
Employee experience is the new buzzword in the human resources landscape. But these initiatives vary depending on factors like the type of business, the size of your workforce, organizational goals, company culture, etc. Before getting down to business, consider these points to create an effective strategy.
To level up the technology for a great workplace experience, you need to integrate a great employee experience software.
With stand-out features, WorkInSync employee experience software helps you create positive employee experience. Implement the best solution for your workplace to improve your employee life cycle.
Schedule a demo with product experts at WorkInSync to learn more.
